This week in wearable news: Apple Watch Series 4 looks set to sport a higher-resolution display as well as thinner bezels, future models may sport an always-on display and Apple seems to be leading the wearables market as others struggle to keep up. Oh, and if you're a depressed medic in Michigan, maybe a Fitbit would help...

Two Apple Watch Series 3 models intertwined.Apple

The Week in Wearables is a news digest, out each week, focused on some of the things that have happened in the world of tech you can wear on your wrist, perch on your head, stick in your ear, sling around your waist, tuck into the small of your back or, well, you get the idea.

Apple Watch Series 4, it's claimed.9to5Mac

Apple Watch Series 4 Display Likely Bigger And Better

This week, 9to5Mac did some calculations.

According to 9to5Mac’s estimable Guilherme Rambo, the larger of the two models will have a significantly enhanced resolution, capable of displaying much more data.

Now, all this computation is based on the assumption that the next watch will have the same case sizes as now, 42mm and 38mm, but all leaks and reports have pointed in the same direction, that the new Watches will squeeze a bigger screen into the same-sized Watches as now, meaning that current bands and straps will still be compatible, thankfully.

Anyway, Rambo suggests that looking at information in the current beta for watchOS 5, that the resolution for the 42mm Watch will increase from the current 312 x 390 pixels (that’s width x height) to 384 x 480.

Apple Watch Series 3 with telltale red Digital Crown showing this is a version with 4G connectivity.David Phelan

Apple Led Wearables

According to IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker, and reported by MacRumors, Apple sold 4.7 million Apple Watches in the second quarter of 2018, holding a 17% share of the wearables market.

Markets such as Asia Pacific, Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Latin America grew 14 percent year-over-year because "basic wristbands" remain in high demand due to their low prices. On the other hand, more mature markets like North America, Japan, and Western Europe declined 6.3 percent year-over-year.

Still, IDC research analyst Jitesh Ubrani says this decline "is by no means worrisome" because the wearables market is transitioning to become "more sophisticated." Instead of tracking basic data points like steps, calories, and workout minutes, future wearables "are well on track to become prescriptive and diagnostic tools." Rumors related to Apple Watch fall in line with this idea, with reports describing future Apple Watch models that could include an EKG heart monitor and track blood glucose levels.

Christina Farr at CNBC had a fascinating story about how Fitbit trackers are being given to medical interns, who get depressed at high rates, to monitor their sleep and activity.

University of Michigan researchers have been studying the problem for more than a decade, enrolling over 2,000 medical interns from schools around the country every year, then studying how they fare over time.

The problem seems to start in medical school, where asurvey found that roughly 10 percent of studentshad thought about killing themselves within the previous year. This population also suffers from suicide at rates 15 to 30 percent higher than the general population. It continues, and for some gets a lot worse, during the internship.

"We find that many of the interns start out fine, and about half get depressed by the end of the year," said Sen.

Now the study is getting a technology boost. The interns are getting aFitbit.

Fitbit got involved with the study through its own research efforts, which involve looking at consumer-generated data for signals of depression. The company thinks its data could be useful in analyzing things like sleep interruptions and varying activity levels, which might contribute to mental health problems. If an intern is running on particularly low levels of sleep and exercise, a Fitbit could pick it up.

Wareable has the story that the predicted Google Pixel Watch isn't coming this year.

Remember thatPixel Watchthat was rumored to be landing this year? Well, it sounds like it's probably not going to happen.

That's based on comments made by a Google executive in an interview withTom's Guide. Miles Barr, who is director of engineering for Wear OS told the site, “To think of a one-size-fits-all watch, I don’t think we’re there yet.”

The Pixel smartwatch no-show was firmed up by a response from a PR representative that said Google has no plans to launch a smartwatch this year.

Barr added that it was focusing on its partners for now, and at the very least doesn't appear to entirely rule out the possibility of one happening in the future. It clearly just won't be dropping in 2018.

Snap has added two new frame options for itsSpectacles 2if you like the idea of shooting video and stills but weren't a fan of the original design.

The new frames, called Nico and Veronica, ditch the circular-shaped tinted lenses of the original Snap Specs 2 and now feature polarised lenses. They're still water resistant, built to survive pool parties and hanging out at the beach with that LED ring and camera tucked into the top of the frames.